If you're a leader in game dev who feels stuck, able to spot problems but struggling to make a real difference, there is a path forward that levels up your leadership and accelerates your team, game, and career. Sign up here to learn more: https://forms.gle/nqRTUvgFrtdYuCbr6

How much is your bad code costing you, and how much is your team's suffering just a ritual of amateur theatre?

In this episode, Engineering and Agile expert Tim Ottinger and Ben challenge the core belief systems that plague software development, from the focus on individual productivity to the self-inflicted wounds of long release cycles. They break down the shocking truth about what slows software projects down, the high cost of errors in a complex system, and why doing work when it's easy is the only way to avoid the crushing complexity of doing it when it's hard.

What you'll learn in this episode:

● Why teams might refuse to change and improve the way they work

● The importance of finding problems now, rather than waiting till later

● Why "crunch time" is killing your output, not boosting it

● When to be throwing work away and when to be making things real

Bibliography:
https://www.industriallogic.com/blog/faster-and-more-predictable/

Paired Programming Illuminated by  Lori Williams and Robert Kessler:
The Goal by Eliyahu Goldratt

More about our guest:

Tim Ottinger is a legendary figure in software development, having programmed since 1979 and been active in the early days of Extreme Programming and Agile. As a Senior Consultant at Industrial Logic, co-author of Agile In A Flash and a contributor to Clean Code, Tim brings decades of practical experience to dissect what goes wrong in most software development and how you can start doing better.

Accolades and Publications:

● Co-Author: Agile In A Flash (with Jeff Langr).

● Contributor: Clean Code.

● Writing Credits: C++ Report, Object Magazine Online, Pragmatic Bookshelf magazine, Software Quality Connection.

● Recognized for: Compassionate and patient approach to working with individuals, sincerely interested in helping people reach their goals.

Social Media and Websites:

● Website (Blog): https://agileotter.blogspot.com/

● Company Blog: https://www.industriallogic.com/blog/

● Twitter/X: @tottinge.

● LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/agileotter/

● Email: tottinge@gmail.com

● Other: https://randsinrepose.com/welcome-to-rands-leadership-slack/

Connect with us:

🔗Ben's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjamin-carcich/

🔗BBG's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/building-better-games/

🔗Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/buildingbettergames/#

🔗Website: https://www.buildingbettergames.gg

🔗YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZpMT-dUwQR-R4Mb4uub6Sw

#gamedev #SoftwareEngineering #Agile #GameIndustry #Leadership

If you're a leader in game dev who feels stuck, able to spot problems but struggling to make a real difference, there is a path forward that levels up your leadership and accelerates your team, game, and career. Sign up here to learn more: https://forms.gle/nqRTUvgFrtdYuCbr6

How do you save weeks of thrash when your team is busy and perhaps even crunching, but your key goals aren't moving?

This solo episode with Ben reveals the hidden cost of avoiding difficult conversations and the simple, 20-minute fix that can unblock your entire game development team. The problem isn't your process, your backlog, or lack of effort—it's failure to pause and actually talk to each other.

You'll learn:

5 signs you need to stop trying to outwork the problems

Why pushing every problem to standup or retro isn't working

How the right conversation can be worth more than weeks of work

Don't let denial or the fear of one more meeting cost you months of development time. It's time to stop wasting effort and have the one real conversation you need.

Connect with us:

🔗Ben's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjamin-carcich/

🔗BBG's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/building-better-games/

🔗Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/buildingbettergames/#

🔗Website: https://www.buildingbettergames.gg

🔗YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZpMT-dUwQR-R4Mb4uub6Sw

#GameDev #GameDevelopment #TeamAlignment #Agile #Productivity #BuildingBetterGames

If you're a leader in game dev who feels stuck, able to spot problems but struggling to make a real difference, there is a path forward that levels up your leadership and accelerates your team, game, and career. Sign up here to learn more: https://forms.gle/nqRTUvgFrtdYuCbr6

What happens when doing the right thing could get you fired?

Every game dev leader faces this nightmare: being held accountable for results but not empowered to make the decisions needed to achieve them. That tension creates chaos, burns out teams, and kills great games.

In this powerful episode, Ben sits down with Clinton Keith, author of Agile Game Development and one of the pioneers of Agile in the games industry. Clinton shares raw, unfiltered stories from real studio crises, including the moment a CEO threatened his team's lives to force change. This isn't a lecture; it's a candid look at what happens when pressure spikes, trust erodes, and leaders have to choose between survival and integrity.

Together, Ben and Clinton break down the industry's most toxic patterns, from "efficient waste" caused by rapid scaling to the trust issues that cripple creative freedom. They also explore how proven frameworks from the military and medicine, like the OODA Loop, can help game studios move faster, safer, and with more clarity.

👉 Watch this episode for a brutally honest look at what real leadership takes in game development and how to lead when the system itself feels broken.

What you'll learn in this episode:

✅ The Accountability Trap: Why even great leaders get stuck in broken systems (and how to break free)

✅ Scale Creates Waste: The hidden cost of growing your studio too fast

✅ The Trust Fix: Why control kills creativity (and how vulnerability builds real leadership)

✅ Beating Bad Systems: How to call out problems and keep your job

✅ Lessons from the Military & Medicine: Battle-tested frameworks that make your team faster and safer

🎮 About Clinton Keith:
Clinton is a Certified Scrum Trainer and coach who has worked with over 150 studios worldwide. With experience ranging from building fighter jets to developing Midtown Madness and Midnight Club, he's helped countless teams reduce crunch, improve collaboration, and build games that truly deliver value.

Learn more about Clint:

🔗Amazon Page: https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B003AAP51G

🔗LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/clintonkeith/

🔗Website: https://clintonkeith.com/

Connect with us:

🔗Ben's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjamin-carcich/

🔗BBG's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/building-better-games/

🔗Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/buildingbettergames/#

🔗Website: https://www.buildingbettergames.gg

🔗YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZpMT-dUwQR-R4Mb4uub6Sw

#GameDevLeadership #AgileGameDevelopment #GameIndustry #StudioCulture #GameProduction

Stop leaving reality behind and ship better games!
If you're a leader in game dev who feels stuck, able to spot problems but struggling to make a real difference, there is a path forward that levels up your leadership and accelerates your team, game, and career. Sign up here to learn more: https://forms.gle/nqRTUvgFrtdYuCbr6

Is your studio living in a delusion that will only end in pain?

Seemingly great teams burn millions of dollars only to shut down because they left reality behind. This episode breaks down the five game dev delusions that kill studios, which I've seen in well-funded, 100+ person teams, unfunded indies, and VC-backed startups.

If you lead a team or want to avoid losing touch with reality, this is for you. We cover five "Ps" of delusional failure: Play, Planning, People, Players, and Purpose AND provide the concrete actions you must take to stay grounded, align your team, and ship a game that makes a difference.

What You'll Learn in This Episode:

✔ Why chasing "the first fun" is a mistake

✔ How to spot vapor estimates before they sink you

✔ Why "best people" hiring puts the cart before the horse

✔ The "audience size" trap (and what to do instead)

✔ Why more work isn't getting you over the line

✔ What gives leaders an edge in staying grounded

Connect with us:

🔗Ben's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjamin-carcich/

🔗BBG's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/building-better-games/

🔗Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/buildingbettergames/#

🔗Website: https://www.buildingbettergames.gg

🔗YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZpMT-dUwQR-R4Mb4uub6Sw

#gamedevleadership #gamedevelopment #gamedevlife #startups #gameproducer

Ready to take your game development career to the next level? Join the Game Dev Leadership Accelerator: https://forms.gle/nqRTUvgFrtdYuCbr6

Do layoffs mean studio leadership is bad?

While the popular answer is often "yes," the truth is more complex. Layoffs can reveal many things, from bad times in the market to failures to manage finances to corporate greed. But if you're a leader, the real test is how you behave when your company's survival is on the line.

Trent Kusters, the co-founder and Studio Head of League of Geeks, joins Ben Carcich for a deeply personal and frank discussion about his experience of laying off almost all of his employees and transitioning the studio into hibernation. Trent argues that leaders are often "ignorant and or untrained" in the critical business, legal, and ethical frameworks needed to navigate a shutdown event with compassion and integrity.

In this discussion, you'll learn:

✅ Why financial foresight and business savvy matter

✅ The true costs of a studio shutdown (even hidden ones like clearing out old desks)

✅ How to build a "rip zone" into your balance sheet to protect everyone

✅ Why living your company values—even when it costs hundreds of thousands—builds a true home for talent

✅ A five-point framework for planning, communicating, and managing a human-centric layoff

Trent's GDC Talk (requires GDC Vault Access) : https://gdcvault.com/play/1035252/Leaders-Working-at-the-Heart

Learn more about Trent Kusters:

🔗League of Geeks Website: https://leagueofgeeks.com/

🔗LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/trentkusters/

🔗X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/trentkusters

Connect with us:

🔗Ben's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjamin-carcich/

🔗LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/building-better-games/

🔗Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/buildingbettergames/#

🔗Website: https://www.buildingbettergames.gg

🔗YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZpMT-dUwQR-R4Mb4uub6Sw

#GameIndustry #GameDevLeadership #StudioLayoffs #FinancialLiteracy #GameProduction

Ready to take your game development career to the next level?
Join the Game Dev Leadership Accelerator: https://forms.gle/nqRTUvgFrtdYuCbr6

In this special Q&A episode for Episode 100, we're answering your most pressing questions from the Game Production Community Discord!

Join Ben Carcich as he dives into critical topics that every game development leader faces, from navigating project pivots to building a healthy team culture. We'll explore:

✅ When to scale your team up (or down)
✅ How to prepare for meetings and ensure they are actually valuable
✅ Why "safe" project pivots don't exist and what to do instead
✅ The common gaps in game production and how to fill them
✅ The evolution of the game producer role over the last decade

This episode is packed with Ben's honest, experience-based insights to help you move past conventional wisdom and build better games.

A special thanks to Jan for curating these questions from the GPC Discord, and for Juney who runs it.
👉 Connect with Jan here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tanoyjl/
👉 Check out the Game Production Community Discord: https://discord.com/invite/gameproduction

Connect with us:
🔗 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjamin-carcich
🌐 Website: https://www.buildingbettergames.gg
▶️ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BuildingBetterGames

If you enjoyed this video and want to see more content on how to build better games, hit Subscribe! Your support helps us create more videos that help you solve the problems that matter.

#GameDev #GameDevelopment #GameProducer #Leadership #GameDesign

Stuck in slow loops and broken systems? The Game Dev Leadership Accelerator can help you make lasting change. Sign up to learn more: https://forms.gle/nqRTUvgFrtdYuCbr6

Why do most teams default to two-week sprints, even when they're wrong?

In this episode, Ben Carcich breaks down a simple model with three dials that you should use to tune your iteration length. He explains why iteration length is a product lever, not a calendar convenience for your leadership, and how choosing the right rhythm for your team can reduce thrash, increase learning speed, and improve value delivery.

What you'll learn in this episode:

• The three dials that shape iteration length

• What the "reciprocal commitment" of an iteration is and why it matters

• The problem with rolling work from sprint to sprint

• How shorter iterations improve focus and learning without adding more meetings

• Why shorter beats longer iterations for exposing hidden problems

This episode is for game developers and leaders who want to learn how to:

• Set an iteration length you can defend and adjust to reduce thrash.

• Avoid becoming a slave to a broken work system that doesn't serve you.

• Have more effective meetings and move faster with less effort.

Connect with us:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjamin-carcich

• Website: https://www.buildingbettergames.gg

• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BuildingBetterGames

If you enjoyed this video and want to see more content on how to build better games, hit subscribe! Your support helps us create more videos that help you solve the problems that matter.

#GameDev #ProjectManagement #Leadership #Agile #Scrum

Is there a way to predict whether a game will hit or flop? In this episode, Ben is joined by Colan Neese, who has spent a lot of time looking at how audiences relate to products at companies like Twitch and Nielsen. Colan's work at Mind Game Data is focused on "puzzling through the problem of anticipating which games are likely to take off at launch and which seem to be headed nowhere".

The conversation challenges the conventional wisdom about what drives a successful launch, revealing why our data-driven approaches have been too narrow to anticipate success.

In this episode, you'll learn:

🎮 Why launching at the wrong time can sink your game

👥 How building a community early can make or break you

🔊 The truth about player attention (it's not just about genres or loud voices online)

📅 When to move your launch date, despite the cost

🕵️‍♂️ And how to spot if your game is actually gaining traction without outside help

Learn more about Colan Neese:

Connect with Colan on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/colanneese/ and subscribe to his newsletters:

• Mind Game Patch Notes: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/mindgame-patch-notes-7336099537939255300/

• LinkedIn Newsletter: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/7336099537939255300/

The Game Dev Leadership Accelerator is live. A successful game begins with leaders who catalyze success instead of wasting everyone's time. This conversation is a great example of the mindset we teach at Building Better Games at focusing on what matters, not what distracts.
Are you ready to level up your leadership? Book a call with us now!: https://calendly.com/bcarcichcoaching/15-minute-one-on-one

Connect with us:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjamin-carcich

• Website: https://www.buildingbettergames.gg

• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BuildingBetterGames

#GameDev #GameIndustry #DataAnalytics #MarketingStrategy #Leadership